Can AI Direct Movies? This One Just Did

All human beings--even famous movie directors like Federico Fellini--have a finite lifespan. But can their talent live on (and continue to create) with artificial intelligence? Campari Red Diaries: Fellini ForwardCampari Red Diaries: Fellini Forward, a short film and behind-the-scenes documentary, premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 7, and will be featured at the New York Film Festival before an on-demand release in select markets. While there are three humans with directorial credits--Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper for the documentary, and Maximilian Niemann on the short film--the post-human creative force on this movie is AI, masterminded by innovation production studio UNIT9. We spoke with Marc D'Souza, Production Director at UNIT9, to find out more. The question behind Campari Red Diaries: Fellini Forward is whether AI can be trained to not just imitate Fellini's oeuvre, but extend it into new and original work.